There must be a secret....

[poboy]

Sportsmen Mechanics:

Trying to remove and replace the front long bushings in my 2000 Sportsmen 500....

I can loosen the front bolt, but then the shaft inside the control arm will spin when I try to loosen the rear bolt. I can tighten the front bolt, then loosen the rear bolt but then the front bolt will not loosen for the same reason.

I see no way to loosen both bolts or prevent the shaft from spinning inside the grease.

Seems it will be easy to replace the bushings and insert and tighten the bolts but there must be some secret way to remove them in the first place....

Thanks for your time and sorry if this has been covered before.

Poboy in Yuma

[Nitro]

Here is whats in my 2002 sportsman manual.

A-ARM REPLACEMENT
1. Elevate and safely support vehicle with weight removed from front wheel(s).
2. Remove cotter pin from ball joint stud at wheel end of A-arm and loosen nut until it is flush with end of stud.
3. Using a soft facehammer, tap nut to loosenA-armfrom bolt. Remove nut andA-armfromhub strut assembly.
4. Loosen two bolts on A-arm tube by alternating each about 1/3 of the way until A-arm can be removed.
5. Examine A-arm shaft. Replace if worn. Discard hardware

[Nitro]

You will need to keep a wrench or socket on the other end when removing either bolt. Take your time and you'll get it. Took me some time to get mine off when I had a broken spacer, bent arm and bent shaft.

[Nitro]

When re-installing Torque new bolts to 30 ft. lbs. (41.4 Nm).
Tighten ball joint nut to 25 ft. lbs. (35 Nm). If cotter pin holes are not aligned, tighten nut slightly to align.

[scottdeet]

I just replied to a post regarding this.
But upon looking closer, instead of "lowering" the A-Arm, maybe RAISE or
pull out either the Front or Back end first.

A-Arm Removal

[Nitro]

The key is to not removing either bolt all the way before backing the other one out & holding the opposite side when loosening the other. Do it in steps, start with the front or back. Hold the other bolt from moving with a wench. Back it out a little then switch to the other bolt. Repeat until they are both out.

[poboy]

Hey Okay! Gotter with the alternating ends trick.

Here's what I had to do.... Because both bolts were really tight, I loosened one bolt and remove it, then wirebrushed the bottom threads, oiled the threads and replaced the bolt. I had to tighten it just tight enough to be able to loosen and remove the other bolt and clean it similarly. I replaced the second bolt and tightened just enough to break the first bolt loose again. It took some dancing back and forth but finally I was able to get both bolts loose at the same time. Then it was a couple of turns to each bolt alternately. Even then, the last few threads of the second bolt were a problem because the shaft inside kept spinning. I inserted a screwdriver into the hole of the removed bolt and I was then able to hold the shaft a bit by prying with the screwdriver while I turned the remaining bolt the last little bit. As I suspected, the shaft was worn and I'll have to replace it and the bushings on both sides.

Now, on to my second problem which is similar.... I removed the cotter pin on the ball joint but when trying to remove the nut on the bottom of the ball joint, the threaded shaft just spins inside the strut housing and I'm unable to remove the nut. Is it the same idea to apply prying pressure to hold the shaft so I can remove the nut? After I removed the two bolts and the retaining plate you'd think the ball joint would just slip out but it will only move about one quarter of an inch and even with gentle persuasion, I cant get the ball joint out. Do I need a bigger hammer? Or is there another secret?

Thanks again to all who contributed.

Poboy in Yuma

[Nitro]

Mine ball joint castle nut came off easily so I don't know. Maybe try tightening it first, then try to loosen it?

[scottdeet]

Originally Posted by poboy

Now, on to my second problem which is similar.... I removed the cotter pin on the ball joint but when trying to remove the nut on the bottom of the ball joint, the threaded shaft just spins inside the strut housing and I'm unable to remove the nut. Is it the same idea to apply prying pressure to hold the shaft so I can remove the nut? After I removed the two bolts and the retaining plate you'd think the ball joint would just slip out but it will only move about one quarter of an inch and even with gentle persuasion, I cant get the ball joint out. Do I need a bigger hammer? Or is there another secret?

poboy,
Are you replacing the complete A-Arm or just the shaft & bushings?
If just the Shaft & Bushings, can't you just do that part with swinging
out the A-Arm attached to the ball joint and just replace the shaft &
bushings and reinstall the bolts.

Sorry I'm not a typer and have been working on this reply with scans of
instructions of how to remove the Ball Joint but this concerns the removal
of the nut first. Guess we need to know if the threads are messed up first
on the ball joint for removal of the nut. If they are, then I believe that
will become a project with more involved and screwing up the original
Ball Joint.

[elmerkit]

Great tips Nitro a friend of mine is also having hard time on doing this.